Making KP
by Jimmy1201
Summary: This is a short side story from "Graduation In MAYhem". You've heard that the best thing you can do for a long and healthy life is to pick your Grandparents? In Kim's case the Blue Heart Society picked them for her. You can't sign a contract to fall in love, but making a child doesn't require love, does it? Contains a lot of backstory for Nana Possible and Ann Credible.
1. Introductions

"Mom, you make it sound like I am some sort of prized bull being rented out to stud!", a young James Possible was convinced his mom had lost her mind.

"Not exactly. Think of it as arranged marriage between two people who in this case, won't bring peace to two warring nation-states, but between two people who carry the genes to produce children who can and will one day save the world."

"Do you know how crazy that sounds!"

"Son, Do you know that the best thing that you can do to help guarantee a long, healthy life is to pick your grandparents?"

"Mom, you can't pick your grandparents!"

"No, but the Blue Heart Society has in your case, effectively picked your grandparents for you."

"You mean… Wait, what about you and Dad?"

"Really son, do you think a dashing Professor of Archeology surrounded by pretty coeds would pick a plain, young naval lieutenant? No, our relationship was arranged."

"And it is all just genetics?"

"No, many of us believe nature predominates but nurture helps. The best outcome would be that the two of you raise the children yourselves, followed by one of you raising the children, and lastly, adoption. Quite frankly you don't have the best nurturing score, but the proposed match would provide a team that should do nicely in raising children."

"You and dad weren't around a lot for Slim and me."

"No, and I regret that. But we were having to deal with cold war and the appearance of super villains. Both I and your father, God rest his soul, were proud of you boys and treasured the time we did spend with you."

"Is Slim being given the same offer?"

"He probably will. But as of this minute, no. All I am asking you to do right now is have dinner with this young lady. Meet her. Look over the contract options. Discuss the crazy thing that the Blue Heart Society is proposing. The only decision you should make on the first meeting is when to meet again to talk."

"And if I refuse?"

"If you refuse then I and the rest of your family will love you as we have always loved you. You will be cut out of the family trust which is managed by the Blue Heart Society. Graduate school will be on your own dime, I do not have the personal funds to pay for it."

* * *

James sat nervously at a table in the back of Charley's Tavern, a locally owned restaurant that Ann had recommended. He had suggested that Ann pick the place as he would be coming from out of town and she would know the best places to eat. The "date" was to be at six o'clock and trying not to look too eager he had only been ten minutes early. At six o'clock exactly, a waiter showed a young red haired woman over to his table. She was dressed casually, slacks and a sporty blouse and had the most incredible blue eyes. The picture he had been given did not do her justice.

"Hi, I'm Ann Credible," she said, holding out her hand.

"James Possible, I'm pleased to meet you" He stood up, took her hand and shook it. Her fingers were cool and long, her grasp firm.

She sat down telling the waiter that she only wanted water with a slice of lime. The waiter took James' drink order, unsweetened ice tea.

Alone, James struggled with something to start the conversation when she said "Thanks for not doing any wordplay on my name".

James replied "Wordplay on your name?", thought for a moment then, "Oh, do guys really do that?"

"Yes, more often than you would think."

An uncomfortable silence spread over them.

"So," Ann said, "You have seen the terms of the contract and the options?"

"Yes, I have. I have a copy in my coat pocket if you need to see them again", replied James.

"No, I have read them enough times that I think I could dictate them. What do you think of this whole idea of our being selected to have children that will 'save the world'", Ann asked.

"I think it is crazy, mad scientist crazy, that it would be a sweet deal for me and puts all the burden on you."

"Donating eggs and sperm for a surrogate and adoption seems nearly equally burdensome on the both of us."

"I don't think I could go through life wondering if I had a child out there somewhere, not even knowing its name." James looked a little embarrassed. "And the idea of getting someone pregnant and leaving her or someone else to raise the child seems wrong."

"Yes, it does. So how do you propose that we do this?"

James smiled. "Learned counsel, my mother, told me to make no decisions tonight except for the time and place of the next meeting"

Ann returned the smile, "Your mother seems like a wise woman."

The waiter interrupted with their drinks. They listened to the specials of the day, Ann selected a grilled salmon Cesar salad, James went with a chicken Parmesan dish and then it was just the two of them again.

James continued, "I will be here over the weekend and fly back Monday to be in time for classes Tuesday."

"So we have the weekend to get better acquainted then. What do you like to do?"

"I was looking in the paper and there is a ski lodge near here - no snow right now, but we could walk the mountain trails and then have dinner at the lodge. We could take in a movie. There is a presentation at the observatory that sounds interesting, uh, if you like stars."

"So you like stars, James?"

Ann had hit the jackpot on what to ask James to open up. She herself knew that stars came in different colors and different sizes but that was about all. She didn't think that stars were all that interesting, just pretty to look at, but James talked for a half hour non-stop about science, exploration, and discovery. The young man she had thought would be just an engineer geek had a passion for knowing and discovering. And that made him interesting. That wasn't enough by itself to make him an acceptable partner for this endeavor but was a start.

"If you don't mind me asking, what were you offered?" Ann asked taking a sip of her water

"Full ride to finish my doctorate in physics and aerospace engineering. A chance to see if I am good enough to work at the planned Middletown Space Center. That's a pretty good deal for me to basically be a stud for a couple of nights."

Ann spluttered a laugh and grabbed a napkin to dry the water coming out her nose. "Sorry, that was rude of me to laugh, but 'stud' did seem awfully self-confident. My dad warned me that you'd be like that. He suggested that I bargain for more compensation."

"I was going for self-depreciation, but funny is acceptable." James said dryly, "So what were you offered, if you don't mind saying?"

"All my student loans paid off plus the chance to do my residency in one of the top neurological surgery hospitals in Germany which also specializes in military combat trauma treatment and surgery."

"That's good?"

And so James was treated to an excited Ann talking about her desires. Where he wanted to explore new worlds and push the boundaries of man's exploration of the solar system and stars, Ann wanted to push the boundaries of surgery and the healing arts, particularly in the areas of the nervous system and the brain.

When she mentioned that there would be a chance to be forward deployed close to combat areas, James was taken aback. "That sounds pretty dangerous to me, Ann."

"Yes, but I will be in the company of rough men with guns and maybe I can be the difference in whether some of their brothers come home whole or even come home at all. After all, it's these rough men that allow us to sleep safe at night."

"Kipling?"

"What?"

"The 'people sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf' that was Rudyard Kipling, right?"

"I thought it was George Orwell."

The rest of the evening was spent in conversation on politics, religion and child rearing. That is, they got the 'make or break' topics out of the way. As luck would have it, neither was a major sports fan so no land mines there. After dinner, they walked back to Jame's hotel. They were met there by Ann's dad who introduced himself while looking at James with a death glare. That pretty much ended the evening.

James went to sleep that night totally infatuated with Ann and wondering why all the hate from her dad. He was looking forward to walking the mountain with her tomorrow followed by dinner at the lodge.

Ann went to sleep that night feeling that a disaster was in the making. James seemed like a nice guy and all. Like someone she could work with. The offer from the Blue Heart Society was amazing. First the benefits to her and her career were amazing. Then Ann spent two days pouring over society records and she now truly believed that their children would benefit the world as well. But there was Paul. The contract didn't require her to marry James, not even have sex with him. She just needed to have children with him. Paul said that he loved her and any children would be half hers so they could make it work. But she had her doubts. After all, the same situation didn't really work out with her dad…


	2. Status, contracts, straws, and trust

_**Status: Complicated**_

The next morning they met at the ski lodge, grabbed some snacks, a couple of bottles of water and started strolling trails through the trees. There were only a few other people around, during the summer most of the people there were riding down concrete chutes on wheeled sleds. They presently found a pretty spot and sat down.

"James, do you have any current attachments? A girlfriend?"

"No, just a lone engineering geek at the moment." James tried to speak lightly.

"I have someone. A man I have dated through high school and college. I am expecting to marry him, but we haven't set a date."

"Well that does make things a little more complicated," James took his disappointment and stepped hard on it. "Have you mentioned the contract to him?"

"Well, yes, but only in general terms." Ann looked at the ground.

James said, "I think it is only fair to bring him into these discussions because he is going to have to live with whatever terms we work out."

"I want to see what terms you would find acceptable first."

"Fair enough." James paused to collect his thoughts. "I always thought that I would be involved in the raising of any child of mine."

"How directly must you be involved?"

"Must?" James was not ready for this, it was starting to sound like he needed a lawyer present.

"Sorry James, I'm sorry to sound so harsh, I am a bit rattled by this conversation."

"Me too, saying 'must' makes me think that we should be sitting across a table with our lawyers at our sides."

"Maybe lawyers would be a good idea. But can we discuss acceptable boundaries and responsibilities before we get lawyers involved?"

"Fair enough, how about we start at the absolute boundaries and see if we can find some acceptable middle ground? The maximum involvement for me would be for me to live with you…"

"A group marriage?" Ann snorted, "I don't think so, Paul would freak at the mention of it."

James pondered that Ann said that Paul wouldn't consider it, but not that she wouldn't. Pressing on, he continued, "The minimum involvement would for me to drop off my contribution in a turkey baster or something and am never heard from again. Which to me is not acceptable."

"Turkey baster?"

"I might have read it in a story somewhere. Gets around needing physical contact to deliver the, uh, genetic material. Anyway, what at what point along that spectrum of fatherly involvement does it become acceptable to you and Paul?"

At this point the day went as downhill as one of the grass covered slopes. James' disappointment in being pushed to the sidelines in his future child's life was palpable. And if he was being brutally honest with himself, he had hoped for a chance at a place in Ann's life. In the end, they agreed that both would consult with child custody lawyers and have a phone conversation the next weekend. They left the lodge without having dinner.

"Mom? It's James." James lay on the bed staring at the ceiling in his hotel room. "I don't think I can do this. She's already planning on getting married and I don't see the guy letting me have any involvement in this child's life." James blew out a sigh and listened to his mother on the other end of the phone.

"Selfish? I'm an engineer, we like to see the results of our work…"

"I suppose I had built this fantasy of having a child with this woman, falling in love and living happily ever after…"

"How can you know this is that important? I mean how can one child be that important? …"

"WHAT! No I don't want her fiance assassinated! How can you even think of doing something like that! …"

"We agreed to consult with attorneys experienced with child custody cases and talk next week, then have a face to face meeting with our attorneys the week after."

"OK Mom, I won't do anything more than talk to the attorney this week. I'll pop in this weekend for a visit. Love you bye."

What the hell had he gotten sucked into? According to his mom, this child was necessary to "save the world". Dammit, he was a scientist and engineer. He didn't believe in predictions that were made, what 100? 200? years ago. Still, his friend Amy was a biologist and did some discreet studies of the Society's work. She reported that they had eliminated several inherited diseases that used to be devastating in several family lines. So they did seem to know something about "improving the human race". She also mentioned that they dealt with people from a wide spectrum of ethnicities and cultures, so at least they weren't going for white purity or anything like that. Feeling like he was on the edge of contributing to something amazing, but he would never know the results, he fell into a fitful sleep.

"Paul!" Ann waved from her seat at the little cafe. She stood and gave her boyfriend a quick kiss and sat back down."

"Ann, I thought you had a business meeting today?"

"I did, but it ended early and we will finish the agreements next week or so."

"How are they going? Anything you can tell me about?"

"Actually they include things I need to talk to you about."

"OK" Paul smiled at her. His smile warmed her. He had been at her side all through high school and undergrad college. Her best friend boy friend one might say. While she continued on to grad school, he left for management at an investment bank and was considered a promising newcomer.

"There is an organization that has made me an amazing offer. They are willing to pay off my student loans, pay future school costs and give me a stipend until my residency is complete. In addition, they can set me up for my next year's residency at one of the leading edge hospitals doing neurosurgery and trauma work."

"That's sounds great Ann. What do they want in return, your firstborn child, Maybe a spare?"

Ann looked into Paul's eyes, there was no humor there.

"Your dad told me." Paul said coolly.

Ann bit back her surprise. "Actually, you should have a long talk with dad. If I take this contract you will be in the exact same position as he was."

"Really Ann, you would bring adultery into the marriage?"

"Paul. Adultery is when one party in a marriage has sexual intercourse with someone not their spouse. We aren't married yet and the agreement isn't for sexual intercourse, it is for me to get pregnant."

"And you can get pregnant without intercourse?"

"Turkey baster."

"What?"

"There are other delivery systems for semen than a guy's penis. Look Paul, I haven't agreed to anything yet. Your input is important to me. Two questions you need to think about. First, can you love a child that is mine but not yours and second, what level of interaction will you allow between the biological father and his child?"

"Do we need to keep and raise the child ourselves?"

"That's my requirement, not part of the contract."

"Ann you are working 80-90 hour weeks, how are you going to find time for a child?"

"That's what I will have a partner to help me with. The hours will get easier after I finish my residency. I have to run, my shift starts in 45 minutes. Think about those two questions and I have a third. Do you want to be married to a surgeon?" Ann stood up, dropped a twenty on the table, leaned over to give Paul a kiss and walked out.

 _ **The Contract**_

James sat at the table with Brooke Lane, his legal assistant sitting beside him. The door to the little meeting room opened and the receptionist showed in Ann, flanked by two gentlemen. One was older and carried a portfolio and James guessed that the other was Ann's boyfriend/fiance. James and Brooke stood and introductions were made. Paul pointedly refused to shake James' hand. John Decks, Ann's attorney, opened the meeting.

"This meeting is to formally agree to the terms of custody, support and visitation rights of the children of James Possible and Ann Credible. A unique situation to my experience, but we treat this agreement as seriously as we would for existing children. Now James and Ann have discussed terms via telephone earlier in the week. We will review the main points of their terms and if agreed, the agreement will be signed. First, do each of you agree that this agreement is binding and unlike most agreements, should any part be decided to be illegal or changed by a court order, the entire agreement will be reconsidered in binding arbitration with the Blue Heart Society providing the arbitrators?"

"Yes," said James.

"Yes," said Ann.

"First major point. Ann Credible will have full custody of any children produced by Ann and James."

"Yes," said Ann.

"Agreed," sighed James taking a deep breath.

"Second major point. James gives up any rights of visitation and agrees not to communicate with any children produced by Ann and James until their 21st birthday."

"Ann, please?" James looked like his heart was about to break.

"No way buddy, you agreed to stay away!" Paul pointed out.

"Agreed," said Ann looking down at the table.

"Agreed," said James after Brooke put her hand on his shoulder in sympathy.

"Third major point. James will not provide any child support of any kind to any children produced by Ann and James."

"That's not fair! He benefits from these children, he should be responsible for some of their support!" Paul objected.

"Agreed," growled Ann, giving Paul a hard look.

"Agreed," said James after being prodded by Brooke.

"Last major point. Should Ann become unwilling or unable to take care of any children produced by Ann and James, the custody will revert to James."

"Agreed," said Ann.

"Agreed," said James.

Anne's lawyer and James' legal assistant carefully went over the two page agreement to make sure they understood, copies were signed and exchanged.

"Ms Lane, may I have a word with you?" asked Ann's lawyer.

"Sure"

"Well, if you will pardon me, I have to get to class." James walked out of the office looking like a broken man."

"And we need to get to the airport for our flight back home." Ann stood and walked out with Paul following her."

"Ms Lane, excuse me for saying this, but you aren't a lawyer are you?"

"No Sir, I am a legal assistant. The legal office originally was going to send a pair of lawyers because frankly, we think that this is unfair to James. But for some reason, James believes that these children are more important than his right to be involved or even his happiness. We actually had to work hard on him for him to forgo child support. They sent me to prevent the lawyers who wanted to come from fighting for James' rights to see his children."

"Do you know what is going on?"

"Not really. I think that this is one of those things that lower level people like me should not ask too many questions about."

"Well, I think I need to dig into this a little more. A custody battle over children that haven't even been conceived yet? Something is up."

"In that case sir, I was told to give you this envelope. I was told that it would give you a decent place to start." Brooke handed John an envelope. "Excuse me, but I should really get these papers filed." Giving the lawyer a wave, she walked out of the meeting rooms.

 _ **The Straw**_

Ann dug through her top desk drawer for the third time. 'Dammit,' she thought, 'I swear that I tucked my passport in here. I just had it the other day when I made the airline reservation.'

Paul poked his head in the doorway. "Hi honey, how are you doing?"

"Frustrated," she replied. "You haven't seen my passport have you?"

"Yeah, your passport. I want to talk to you about that. You know, maybe this trip isn't a good idea."

"We've discussed this already Paul. I'm going to Germany for my third year of residency then return to Middleton to finish the last two years."

"No, you've discussed it, I get a vote too and my vote is no. Going to Germany means we put off marriage for another year."

"Paul, I offered to marry you before I left."

"No, I won't have an absentee wife. Plus if you don't go to Germany, then you can get out of the contract for having a child with that guy."

"Paul, we did talk about that contract before I signed it. You said that you were fine with raising a child that was mine and not yours!"

"I know, but I've been thinking. We would certainly end up having a child or two of our own and it wouldn't really be fair to their half sibling that we would love them more."

"Paul, without the contract I will have to repay my student loans and drop out of school!"

"I was thinking about that too, you have enough training to be a physician assistant. That should be an easier job so you can have more time to be a mother and wife. As I continue to rise in the firm, I will need more support from you."

"Paul, I want my passport!"

"Honey, take a day or two to think about it. You'll see I'm right. Talk to your dad, he agrees with me."

"I WANT MY PASSPORT!"

"Sweetie, you need to calm down, you are getting emotional."

"GET OUT!"

"Now baby, you don't mean…"

"GET OUT!"

A large hand appeared on Paul's shoulder. It was connected to an equally large muscular man, brown hair in a military haircut and heavy five o'clock shadow.

"Dr Possible, Ma'am. Is this person bothering you?"

Ann took a deep breath and blew it out. "Lieutenant Barkin, this is Paul. He may be my ex-fiance. He needs to leave, please. Paul, this is lieutenant Steve Barkin. He will be subletting my apartment while I am in Germany. He will see you to the door."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow when you have time to calm down," Paul said as he was escorted to the door.

Two years of residency had taught Ann not to panic. Being late getting to Germany was not necessarily a show stopper, but she really, really wanted to make a good first impression. Since the contract called for her to get pregnant towards the end of her year of residency there, she would need all the goodwill she can create. So, if she left today for Washington DC, she could spend tomorrow waiting in line to get a new passport and be ready to get on the flight to Germany with a day to spare. A quick call to her travel agent revealed that all her credit cards had been reported as stolen and couldn't be used. A call to her dad simply got her a terse, "You should listen to Paul, he really has your best interest in mind" reply. Her dad continued, "Besides, I think that you will come to realize that surgery is no place for a woman like you."

Not panicked but certainly in a mood closer to rage than a surgeon should ever let herself come, she wracked her brain for answers. Picking up the phone one more time, she called a number she found in legal papers at the top of the pile on her desk.

"Engineering Graduate Assistants Office, James Possible"

 _ **In Nana We Trust**_

Ann wracked her brain for answers. Picking up the phone one more time, she called a number she found in legal papers at the top of the pile on her desk.

"Engineering Graduate Assistants Office, James Possible"

"James, this is Ann Credible. I need some help."

"Sure, Ann, anything for the mother of my children." Bitterness crept into James' voice.

Ann thought that maybe this was a bad idea and was about to just hang up when James continued, "No, wait. I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. I wouldn't have signed those papers if I didn't have full faith in you as a good person and a loving mother. Please, let me start over." James cleared his throat. "Hi Ann, it's nice to hear from you. What can I do to help you?"

Not wanting to go into details, she laid out the bare facts. "I need to get to Washington DC by tomorrow morning to get a new passport so I can make my flight to Germany. My credit cards have been reported stolen, so I can't make a flight reservation."

James was often the stereotypic clueless engineer. But he could pull it together when he had to and her terse explanations were setting off alarm bells. "Ann, are you in danger or are you constrained in any way?"

"What? No! Well at least no more constrained than the lack of passport and credit cards are doing. As for personal safety, I have a lieutenant of some kind of special forces sleeping on my couch. He will be subletting my apartment while I am in Germany."

"OK, hold on the line please, I need to check with someone." James put the call on hold and selected another line.

"Amanda Possible"

"Mom, I need to use my emergency credit card, so you might get a call from the bank."

"OK. What's up son?"

James quickly gave her Ann's request for help.

"Tell her to go to the airport - have her roomie take her if he can. Tell her to listen for a page for Amanda Possible and do what the page says. One carry-on bag only. Tell her that your mom has seen too many old spy movies."

"OK. Thanks, mom"

James switched lines, "Ann?"

"Yes, I'm still here."

"Mom is going to help us out. If you can, have your Lt escort you to the airport. Take only one carry-on bag. Listen for a page for Amanda Possible and answer it. She says to tell you that she has seen too many spy movies."

"James, are you serious?"

"The best way for you to find out if you can trust my Mom is to trust my Mom. My experience is that she can get things done faster than anyone I know."

"But my stuff!"

"Trust my Mom. Besides, you can buy clothes in Germany right?"

"OK, In Your Mom I Trust. Thanks, James, I owe you."

"Nah, we're business partners, right? Mutual benefit. Better get going."

Ann grabbed her birth certificate out of her desk and rearranged the contents of her overnight bag to be a little more self-sufficient and then carried it into the living room. Seeing Steve sitting on the couch flipping through TV channels, she asked, "Steve, could you take me to the airport and walk me inside please?"

Steve bounced to attention. "Yes, Ma'am! What luggage are you taking?"

"Just this bag."

Steve narrowed his eyes, "Ma'am, is there a threat? Should I draw my sidearm?"

Ann rolled her eyes, "No threat that your presence alone won't handle."

At the airport she heard a page over the PA system, "Party meeting Amanda Possible, please come to the United Customer Service Desk, Party meeting Amanda Possible, please come to the United Customer Service Desk."

Walking to the desk, she was greeted by a perky young man. "Good Afternoon, welcome to United, how can we be of assistance today?"

"Hi, I'm the party meeting Amanda Possible."

"Excellent! Could I please see some identification? Perhaps a driver's license?"

Ann dug her wallet out of her purse and showed the man her driver's license.

"Thank you very much, Ms Credible! This envelope is for you from Amanda Possible." the young man said, handing her an envelope. "And here are your tickets for flight 652 leaving in 45 minutes from Gate C5 and arriving in Washington DC around 9 pm." He showed her the boarding pass and then pulled out a second ticket from the little envelope. "And this is the flight that will connect you to your flight to Germany leaving from JFK. Is there anything else we can do for you this afternoon?"

"No, I think I am fine, thank you." Ann stepped away from the counter to where Steve was holding her carry-on bag and scanning the crowd like a secret service agent looking for assassins. "Let's go find my gate, Steve"

"Yes Ma'am"

Arriving at the gate with about 15 minutes before boarding, she sat away from the crowd to privately look into the envelope. She found an American Express Card with a note "for emergencies only" taped to it, a small stack of twenty dollar bills and a small stack of Deutsch marks. The note on the cash said "Enough for walking around, not enough to look like money laundering." Finally, there was a short note that read:

 _Dear Ann;  
_ _As luck would have it, I currently live and work in DC.  
I would be pleased to host you for a day to help get  
your affairs arranged. I will meet you at the airport.  
If this is not acceptable, then allow me to at least take  
you to a hotel convenient to the State Department.  
_ _Amanda 'Nana' Possible"_

Using Steve as a privacy screen Ann put the cash, credit card and ticket to JFK in her money belt and settled it back under the waist band of her slacks. She heard the announcement that her row was boarding, so she thanked Steve for his help and boarded the plane. She pulled a medical journal out of her carry-on and stuffed the bag in the overhead. Ann was generally one not to fret about things, but she did wonder about meeting the mother of the man she just screwed over by denying him access to his future children.


	3. Dinner with Nana and Germany

_**The airport**_

Ann came out of her reverie when the wing flaps extended and gently shook the plane. She had spent the flight lost in thought analyzing her current situation. Had she led Paul on? She didn't think so, after all, she had been working on becoming a surgeon through four years of medical school and the two years of residency. But now Paul seemed to expect her to 'come to her senses', drop her journey to be a surgeon and become a house wife and mother to his children. Did she want children? Yes, but she was working hard to get established in medicine before that happened. Was she wrong in keeping James from his biological children? The more that she thought about it, the more wrong it seemed. She had pushed for that at the urging of Paul, but was Paul just acting out of jealousy? She was pretty sure that her relationship with Paul was in the dumpster if not totally over. And James? Well, she had seen the stars in James' eyes when he first met her. She knew that she was attractive on multiple levels, no brag, just fact, and James getting a crush on her would not end well. Had her brain been working clearly, she would never have called him for help. But she did ask him for help and now she was landing in Washington DC.

Ann slung her purse with the strap cross-body and pulled her overnight bag out of the overhead compartment. Waiting for the people in front of her to get their stuff and move out the door, she considered how to introduce herself to Mrs Possible.

1\. _"Good to meet you, I'm Ann, I break men's hearts and crush their souls, perhaps James has mentioned me? Or have you met Paul?"._ No, too much honesty, too focused on me.

2\. _"Pleased to meet you, I'm Ann, I'd prefer it if you make my death quick even though I just ripped your son James' unconceived children from his loving arms."_ No, best not to give Mrs Possible ideas.

3\. _"Hi, I'm Ann." (offer to shake hands) "Thank you so very much for your help. Have you lived in DC long?"_ Not bad, short, to the point, give Mrs Possible a chance to talk.

The line in front of her started moving and after thanking the pilots and attendants she walked out of the plane and made her way to the main corridor. She had just decided to follow the signs to ground transportation when a woman dressed in a business suit stood up in front of her and smiling, held up a little sign with "Ann C." printed on it. The woman was her height, brunette and wore glasses.

When Ann paused and prepared to go with introduction number 3, the woman laughed, took two long strides up to her and wrapped her in a strong, quick hug. "Welcome to Washington DC, dear. Were you going with number 3 or number 4?" Mrs Possible left one arm around her and guided her down the corridor.

"What?"

"Dear, you looked like you had a list of things to say and was considering which to use. From the length of your pause, I am guessing number 3 or number 4."

"Uh, number 3 actually," Ann replied, totally off balance.

"Oh, here's a restroom. Do you need to freshen up?"

"No, but I really need to pee." Ann found herself replying.

"I'll wait here then." Nana laughed as she took Ann's overnight bag.

Nana considered her first impression of Ann. She seemed OK with physical touch, had a quick sense of humor and seemed to be dealing OK with being in an unexpected and stressful situation. All important qualities for dealing with children. And men, although from early reports from James, Nana had her pegged as quite the destroyer of men's hearts. Dinner conversation should be interesting.

Ann washed her hands and wondered what just happened. James' mom seemed like a force of nature. Way too observant for her comfort level. Still, she told James that she would trust his mom and she felt like she needed to at least try to trust her. Ann felt her stomach grumble. It was late here, but her stomach was on mountain time. Perhaps they could grab some food on the way to her hotel.

Walking out of the restroom, Ann retrieved her overnight bag. "Mrs Possible, if it's reasonable I'd like to get a bite to eat. This has been a hectic day and I seemed to have missed a couple of meals."

"Please dear, call me 'Nana', it's my Navy call sign from an earlier career. There are nice Italian and Indian restaurants near my apartment, how about we go to my apartment and order some delivery?"

"I don't want to be any trouble…"

"Dear, I have found that the best people are worth the trouble."

"Thank you very much, delivery to your apartment sounds lovely."

Nana's apartment was a simple two bedroom, 3rd floor walk-up. It looked comfortable and tidy. Nana had Ann sit at a table and put forms in front of her. "Please check these passport application forms, cross out and correct any wrong or missing information. How about I order us a sampler platter from the Indian restaurant. Do you like spicy food?"

Ann was finding the lack of missing or incorrect information on the forms a little disturbing. "A little spicy perhaps, I haven't eaten much Indian food."

"OK, I'll tell them that." Nana walked over to a wall phone, dialed a number and started discussing curries and other items.

There was a knock on the door. Nana answered it and let in a young man carrying a messenger bag. "Dear, if those forms are OK, sign them and give them to Samuel." Ann handed over her forms and birth certificate while Nana rummaged in a cabinet and pulled out an instant camera. "Stand over here, please. Don't smile, customs people want realistic pictures and nobody smiles going through customs." A bit numb, Ann stood where directed and Nana took a couple of pictures. Pausing to let them 'develop', Nana held them out to Ann, "Are these OK?" Ann thought they were fine, Amazingly enough, even her hair looked under control. Nana gave the pictures to Samuel, who bade them a good night and left.

 _ **Indian Food**_

"The Indian food restaurant said a Riesling would go well with the food, is that OK with you?" Nana was rummaging around in another cabinet, this one seemed to be made to hold wine bottles.

"I guess so, I am not much of a drinker. Is there anything I can do to help?" Ann was feeling a little out of control.

"Plates and glasses are in that cabinet, silverware is in that drawer, why don't you set the table." Nana pointed out their locations.

"Set two places?" Ann wondered if there was a Mr Possible about to show up.

"Two places dear, I am a widow and James isn't visiting until the weekend after next."

Ann set out plates, silverware and Nana poured wine into glasses.

There was a knock on the door and soon they were unpacking sacks with little containers onto the table.

If was a pleasant enough dinner, they talked about Germany which both had visited, Ann told hospital tales and Nana told Navy tales (some of which Ann found hard to believe).

Ann found that she liked the wine and many of the dishes, she particularly liked 'butter chicken' and 'saag paneer', a spinach and cheese curry dish.

After they put away the leftovers, Nana insisted that they move to the couch for coffee. Nana believed that surgeons like the navy, ran on coffee.

Sitting on the couch, Ann tasted the coffee. She approved, it was decently strong coffee, the kind that she would order in a restaurant as a "double shot of espresso".

"How did you get the call sign 'Nana?'" Ann set her coffee down on a little table next to her end of the couch."

"The Navy was starting a course called Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape. The basic idea was to train people to evade capture and escape if they found themselves behind enemy lines. I was asked to participate as an instructor. My job was to be the 'good cop' in interrogation role play. But we soon found out that many of the students were spilling their guts to me without ever bringing in the 'bad cop'. The school commander interviewed some of the students, he thought I was using 'my feminine wiles' to get them to talk. One student said 'I don't know sir. It was like I was a little boy being questioned by my Nana, I couldn't lie to her!' So even though I was maybe 23 or 24 at the time, the other instructors started calling me 'Nana' and later it was picked to be my call sign."

A silence sank over the pair and Ann started to apologize for how James was being treated when Nana interrupted her.

"In the old days, romance wasn't nearly a big a factor in marriage as was the ability to support a family. In those days, the Blue Heart Society found it easier to manipulate couples and have generally happy results all around. But then people started expecting "Romance" and things got tougher. Take me for example."

"You?"

"Yes dear, James and I are products of the BHS just like you are."

 _ **Nana: Indy**_

Nana leaned back on the couch and took a sip of coffee.

"I remember my parents as both loving, caring individuals. They loved me and loved each other until the day they died. That was what I expected married life to be." Nana took another thoughtful sip of coffee.

"James' father was Henry Jones Jr. He was around ten years older than I and an absolute dreamboat. He had this smile that would make me weak in the knees every time. Strong, athletic, witty, and really, really smart. He was a professor of archaeology and a part-time investigator of arcane artifacts for the U.S. government. I fell head over heels in love with him the first time we met. I had just finished a tour as a diver in a Navy Underwater Demolition Team, mostly reconnaissance and mine clearing."

"How did you ever get into a combat unit as a woman in what, the '50s?"

"Dear, that is a story that requires alcohol, not coffee. Anyway, once certain people found out that I was a woman serving in a combat zone, I was pushed into shore duty, a desk job. Then I got a visit from some people who promised me aviator training if I would agree to have two children with the man of their choice."

"Dr Henry Jones Jr."

"Yes, although he hated the 'junior' part and preferred to be called 'Indiana' or 'Indy'.

"Sounds like a contract made in heaven."

"No. I don't know what they offered him to marry me, he would never say. Marriage was a requirement because of the stigma attached to unmarried mothers in those days. Day care was pretty much unheard of. But he never loved me although he loved James and Slim with all his heart. The love of his life was Marion Ravenwood. Marion couldn't have children and after a while, she also came to love the boys."

"What about you?"

"I was sort of the odd woman out. Indy, of course, bedded me to produce James and Slim and occasionally bedded me when he thought I was feeling too lonely. I admit that I was never too proud to accept his 'acts of kindness'. Most of his attention was focused on Marion. In the great scheme of things, the boys had three people who loved and adored them, and as for me, I got the promised aviator training."

"Doesn't sound like a good deal to me."

"Dear, at some point, things can't be about just you, they have to be about the greater good. If Indy hadn't already had the love of his life, perhaps he would have learned to love me. I never looked for another man to love, when you are in love with the sun, a flashlight just isn't good enough. Then when Slim was thirteen, and James was eleven, Indy and Marion left on a secret assignment and never returned."

"You never found out what happened?"

"No, and I was working for the Office of Naval Intelligence at the time so I had resources. Deep in my heart, I still hope to this day that they found a place to love each other in peace, but they both loved the boys too much to just leave like that."

"Do you regret taking the contract?"

Nana laughed, "Dear, regret is something you get to do when you get old. I'm just getting started doing things I may regret later."

"Now tell me about you and Paul."

A/N: In this story, June is Ann's stepsister.

 _ **Ann: Paul**_

Ann stalled to try to collect her thoughts by taking another sip of the really excellent coffee.

"Where did you meet?" Nana prompted.

"We met in homeroom in our junior year of high school. Something just clicked and soon we were pretty much inseparable. We both loved snow skiing and anything that had to do with being on the water. He was someone who was comfortable with silence, so I never felt that I had to keep up a conversation, we could just sit and watch the sunset and just be. And as silly as it sounds, he made me laugh. Undergraduate school was much the same. We were lucky enough to go to the same school, although with him studying business management and me in premed, we rarely shared a class. After graduation, I went to med school and he started working at an investment bank."

"Did you ever consider moving in together?"

"No, Paul is very conservative, no living together or sex before marriage."

"So why didn't you get married?"

"Paul wants a full-time wife, not a part-time wife and part-time student."

"Maybe he didn't want to pay for your med school?"

"Nana! That's a cold thing to say!"

"Sorry, did you want to get married?"

"Not strongly, I have enough on my plate without taking care of a husband."

"So for four years of med school and two years of residency, just how much have you and Paul been together; I mean actually been in the same room?"

"Well, not a lot, I guess. I know it sounds like I only care about me, but ever since Granddad told me about the Blue Heart stuff, I felt like I had to be ready to do something with my life before they showed up otherwise I'd be just another brood mare."

"just another brood mare, dear?"

"My dad's term. Stepfather to be technical, I've never met my biological father. Mom passed away several years ago. Dad loved her deeply and has been bitter ever since. He blames the BHS for her death, says if they had done their job, she wouldn't have gotten cancer."

"I'm sorry for your loss dear."

"Thanks, Nana. I don't see how I can screw up my relationship with Paul any worse. I've not given him serious attention for years now. I've asked him to help me raise another man's child. I've driven him so crazy that he stole my passport and credit cards to keep me close to him. On reflection, I don't know why he didn't break up with me years ago."

"Dear, I can't say why Paul didn't leave you a long time ago. Perhaps you were some ideal of the perfect love and he was fixated on that. Maybe he hoped that you would settle down and be a traditional wife and mother. I'm not even sure that Paul can tell you why."

"And now there is James. Nana, when he walked out of the meeting with the lawyers, he looked like I had ripped his heart out and stomped on it. When I called him today, I could hear the bitterness in his voice. But then he fought the bitterness back and asked what he could do to help me. He is such a nice guy Nana."

"I think so dear."

"But that's why I can't let him get close to me, I'll destroy him like I did Paul" Tears were appearing in Ann's eyes.

"Dear, both of them are big boys, you can't be responsible for everything. May I ask how you plan to deal with both an infant and residency without a partner? Perhaps you should let someone else raise the child?"

All the color left Ann's face. "No, I can do it, I… Oh my God, this is what I did to James." Ann put her face in her hands. She didn't sob, which worried Nana a bit.

Nana scooted over and put her arm around Ann. "Dear, listen to me. You don't have to have the answers tonight. You have time to talk to Paul. You have time to redo the agreement with James if that makes sense. I've read the contract, the child isn't planned to be born until over a year from now. You have time to plan. This has only been on your radar for a couple of weeks. Let's get some sleep, your passport will be delivered in the morning, then we can do some clothes shopping and see about getting you off to Germany. Then I can help arrange to have what you need shipped to you in Germany. Does that sound OK?"

"Yes, Nana." Ann said.

 _ **Letters to Germany**_

* * *

Dear Ann,

Mom tells me that you got everything fixed and flew out to Germany on time. Hopefully this note is addressed correctly to get to your new apartment.

Just wanted to wish you well on your residency in Germany. If there is anything I can do for you, even just to send you some food item you miss in Germany, let me know.

James

* * *

Ann,

It has been one month since you left and I think I want to come to a close on the things between us. I am sorry for acting such the jerk, but I had missed you during your residency so much that I was desperate to somehow get you back in my life full time. I see now that was a fool's wish. We can't go back to high school and I understand that now.

You left with me as power of attorney with respect to your apartment and some accounts. I transferred that and all your spare keys to an "Amanda Possible" who said she was handling moving what you needed to Germany and storing the rest. I did check on your apartment a couple of times and your lieutenant seems to be taking really good care of the place.

Take care of yourself, I will always remember what we used to have.

Paul

* * *

Dear Ann,

I know it is four months away, but here is a conference that I am planning to attend and maybe even present a paper at for our engineering team. Attached are the details of the conference. I think that it will match the time that I need to perform my part of the contract. Let me know if you think this will work for you and as it gets closer, let me know times and days. If there is anything I can do for you, let me know.

James

* * *

Dear Ann,

Mom had me stop by your apartment to check on things for you. Everything looks good. Lt Barkin said that the brand of cookie I have packed in this box was heavily stocked in your cabinets when you left. I am hoping that was because they were a favorite of yours and not because you found them on a really good sale. The conference is in three weeks and I am hoping to at least meet you for dinner as opposed to just a "drop off the turkey baster and run" kind of meeting. (in case you can't tell, that was supposed to be humor)

James

* * *

 _ **Visit to Germany**_

James walked down the hall to the nurses station. James said, in what he hoped was passable German, "Mein Name ist James Possible, ich habe einen Termin mit Dr Credible."

He was incredibly relieved when the nurse replied in perfect English, "Have a seat over there, Mr Possible, someone will be along shortly to get you."

James walked over and sat down. He was in town for an engineering conference and slipped off to come to the hospital to "donate" his contribution to the contract. He had fantasized meeting her for dinner, then back to their hotel room for wine and…

"Mr Possible?" An older nurse interrupted his thoughts. "My name is Lena. Please come with me." She led him down the hall and into a small exam room. She handed him a clear specimen cup and said "Magazines in the drawer if you need them. I will wait outside."

Before James could say anything, Lena left and closed the door behind her.

'Well, it's not exactly a standard honeymoon.' James didn't need magazines, his fantasy of how the night should have gone would be sufficient. Still, couldn't hurt to check them out. Looking through the stack, he noticed that they were all in German, not they he would care about reading the articles. Taking the magazines, James opened the door and went up to nurse Lena. "Pardon me, would you have the English version of the American Journal of Physics?"

Lena just looked at him. Figuring that she didn't understand him, he tried his questionable German: "Hast du die englische Version des American Journal of Physics?"

Lena looked like she thought he was crazy. 'Well, I guess I should have paid more attention in in German class." Disappointed on not getting a laugh he went back into the room, closed the door and put away the magazines. Focusing on the way he wanted the evening to go, he was able to produce his "business obligation". Taking his contribution to Lena outside, he asked, "Can I see Dr Credible?"

Lena looked into his eyes for a moment. "Wait here."

Ann woke to the sound of Lena coming into the exam room. She was laying on her back on a table with her legs and pelvis elevated.

"I have Mr Possible's contribution," Lena said, pulling a long syringe out of a drawer. Filling the syringe, she moved between Ann's legs. "There are more pleasant ways to do this you know."

"So I've heard, but I really don't want to break this guy's heart."

"But he is so cute. And right outside. You have to lay here for thirty minutes. I'm done," Lena covered Ann with a blanket. "Can I let him in just to say hello? I have heard that having an orgasm helps, he could help with that," Lena smiled slyly.

"No Lena, I'm fine being here all by myself, thank you very much."

"As you wish Doctor" Lena stepped out.

Two minutes later, Lena popped back in with James in tow.

Ann was sound asleep.

"I'm very sorry Mr Possible, I thought you could at least say hello. She does this thing where she sleeps twenty minutes and then is good for two hours. She has a surgery scheduled to start in 45 minutes. We had better let her sleep."

James reached inside his jacket and pulled out a yellow rose. "Can I leave this with her please?"

Lena nodded and James walked over to the table and laid the rose on the blanket covering her. Looking at her face, he saw her without makeup, hair tousled, faint dark circles under her closed eyes from fatigue. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. James turned and left the hospital to go back to the conference.

Three more times during the week of the conference, James dropped by the hospital to leave a 'donation'. The first time was the only time he saw her. Returning to his hotel room after the conference is over, he found a vase of hydrangeas on the table. Sighing sadly, he packed and left for the airport to fly back home.

 _ **Rough men**_

Sergeant Major Chaos looked at the sleeping form of the woman laying in one of the six stretchers in this Blackhawk. The woman who would be the death of him. A god damned civilian! Probably the best combat surgeon he had ever seen and she wasn't supposed to be here! She was supposed to be in the field hospital ready to treat incoming wounded. Incoming wounded that weren't supposed to exist because this was a god damned police action! Two of their fire teams were caught in an ambush and a Blackhawk coming in for close support was hit with an RPG and forced to make an emergency landing nearly on top of them. And when he found the idiot that let her, a civilian, ride on that chopper, he was either going to rip his liver out through his nose or kiss him on the lips because initial reports from the fire team squad leader was that without her, there would be three body bags on this chopper instead of three men who were wounded but alive and a surgeon who would keep them that way.

She had taken off her body armor once they were in the clear. He had checked it and found several gouges in her 'chicken plates' where stray small arms fire had probably struck it. How the hell she was able to move while wearing that heavy armor, much less run, he had no idea. That style of armor was intended for aircrew, not ground pounders. On the evac, he had seen her carrying one end of a stretcher to free a rifleman to provide cover. He saw her get up, steady herself, drink water from a canteen and then start checking her patients. He checked his watch, twenty minutes on the mark. Another of her legends was that she could go for days on nothing but twenty-minute naps every two hours.

The Sergeant Major had been sent out because of stories about her had filtered up to command level. His task was to find out if they were true and if so, shut her down and send her ass packing. For someone who had only been in area for ninety days, she certainly seemed to get around. She seemed to have a sixth sense of where she would be needed. Chopper crews were constantly taking her out on MEDEVAC and even a few CASEVAC/Dust Off missions that usually didn't carry medical personnel. When he asked the crews how in the hell did she talk them into taking her along, they usually mumbled something about a "Puppy dog pout". One story had her doing artery repair surgery on a corpsman's leg in the back of an M113 personnel carrier in the middle of a firefight.

At the fire team level, she was considered a good luck charm, that no matter how badly you were hurt, if you saw her you knew you would make it home alive. Depending on which corpsmen you talked to, she had personally saved between ten and twenty-five men by providing critical medical treatment under combat conditions. And another three today. Who knew how many more she would save indirectly due to her quiet insistence on training new techniques to any corpsmen who would learn from her?

He pressed himself against a stretcher to allow her to move past in the narrow aisle when the chopper hit a pocket of turbulence. His arm automatically shot around her to steady her. Around her lower abdomen. A hard lower abdomen. A hard lower abdomen with a bump. Horrified, he turned her around to face him. Before he could say a word, she looked up at him with those brilliant blue eyes and said, "All these men are somebody's baby, Sergeant Major."

* * *

Ann put the last of her few belongings into her duffel bag and headed out to the waiting area to catch the next military transport back to Germany.

"Dr Credible!" A voice called out from behind her.

She turned around. "Yes, Captain, how can I help you?"

"General Trix would like to speak with you, Ma'am."

"Captain," Ann sighed, "If he just wants to chew on my butt, please tell him that you missed me. My butt has been well and truly chewed already this week. Now if you will excuse me, I need to get back to my hospital in Germany. Where I expect it to get chewed on some more." Ann turned and continued on to the waiting area. Checking at the counter, she found that a 'space available' seat would be open on a transport to Germany loading in an hour. Sitting down, she did what any experienced warrior or surgeon would do. She went to sleep.

Twenty minutes later she awoke to find a general standing at parade rest in front of her. Looking out on the tarmac, she saw perhaps seventy-five men standing in parade ground rows. The general offered his hand, taking it, she stood up.

"Dr Credible," The general said, "The men wish to show their appreciation for your service. If you would step outside please." The general picked up her duffel and led her onto the tarmac. They walked in front of the formation and stopped.

A PFC stepped up and handed her a small book. "Dr Credible, every time you saved one of us you saved all of us. This book contains the names of the mothers of the men you have saved, the mothers of their brothers in arms and our names."

Ann opened the book. The title page said, "We are all somebody's baby". Flipping through the book she saw the men had handwritten their name, their unit, and their mother's name.

A corpsman stepped up and handed her a coin. The coin had a caduceus, the symbol of medicine on top of crossed rifles. Around the edge were the words "Credible's Rough Men". "This coin will be carried by the men who had the privilege of being watched over by you, Ma'am!"

Ann found her vision getting blurry. Turning to the general, she asked; "Permission to hug these men please."

"Permission granted Doctor".

It was the greatest group hug in Ann's life.


	4. Back Home in Middleton

_**Leaving Germany**_

A/N It should be obvious that this is Fan Fiction, I don't own James, Ann, or Nana - They belong to Disney and Disney would never treat them this way. With respect to any mention of surgery, you should consider that part to be pure fantasy. Even if Mrs Dr P is the surgeon. If nothing else, the lack of a sterile place for Ann's emergency surgeries would make success a fantasy.

Ann walked quickly to the main conference room. When on duty and that seemed to be 24/7 much of the last year, she always walked quickly. Her pregnancy had progressed from the "mostly ignorable bump and occasionally throwing up" stage to the "uncomfortable while running" stage. Dr Maddox Haupthauen waited for her outside the door. He was smiling. 'Smiling is a good sign, right?' thought Ann. Dr Haupthauen was the head of her department, a man who constantly encouraged his staff to do better than they thought they were able. He had little tolerance for screw-ups or slackers, but a more supportive man to his people who were trying their best you would never find. Surprisingly, Ann came back to the hospital to get a warm reception from everyone, she had expected to receive additional butt chewing from her stepping out of bounds in the field. "Dr Credible!", he cheerfully called out, extending his hand. "How are you? And how is the baby?"

"Dr Raubarzt says the baby is developing just fine. The staff has been most gracious to shift me to shorter surgeries to reduce the amount of time I am standing."

"Good, good. We must get together sometimes over lunch before you leave so you can tell me more of your recent adventures!"

Ann took his hand and received a warm handshake. Relieved that she wasn't here to get any part of her anatomy chewed on, Ann replied, "Not much to tell, Dr Haupthauen. Just basic surgery in sometimes uncomfortable conditions."

Smiling broadly, he motioned to the door. "Perhaps you could answer questions on a surgery we have received a video about."

They walked into the conference room and sat down. The room was full of senior staff and residents. The video wasn't the best and was a little shaky, but Ann recognized it immediately. "I didn't realize he had a camera, I just asked for a light and thought it was a heavy duty flashlight."

"Where are you?" Dr Haupthauen asked.

"In the back of an armored personnel carrier. This corpsman had received a leg wound and the tourniquet wasn't stopping the bleeding. I determined the cause was a damaged artery too deep for the tourniquet. I moved the patient into the vehicle because there was still some small arms fire going on. The threat of RPGs had the MEDEVAC flights in a hold state otherwise we would have transported the patient back to the field hospital even with his bleeding not quite stopped."

"You were under fire?"

"I don't think anyone was shooting at me personally, but better safe than sorry."

"What are you doing to your arm here?"

"I seem to have cut it or something, I needed to do a quick fix so I wouldn't be bleeding on the patient."

"That looks like six or seven stitches?"

"Seven I think." Ann looked around at the residents in the room. "This is another example of why you learn to tie knots one handed."

"Why do you have the patient's leg propped up on your shoulder?"

"I didn't have room for any assistant to get in to provide suction so this lets the blood collecting in the wound drain away. Messy but worked."

Ann continued talking about her work, about how that clamping the artery would have been fast and stopped the bleeding, but cutting off the blood flow that way would have endangered the leg unless they could immediately MEDEVAC him. Repairing the artery enough to give them the extra time it was going to take to get him back to the hospital was only 15 minutes of work using precision stitches and a bit of super glue. At the end of the video, Ann excused herself saying that she had to run to prepare to assist on a scheduled surgery. After she left, the residents and surgeons in the conference room had a lively discussion of whether they had just seen genius or lunacy.

Dr Haupthauen left the conference room regretting that Dr Credible needed to raise her child in Middleton, otherwise he would try to recruit her.

 _ **The Morning After**_

James heard yet another set of people come into his room. It had been that way all day. Early that morning he was visited by four hard looking men. They didn't have much to say to him at first, but examined his injury and talked among themselves about having somebody named Ramirez do a better job in "teaching his students to keep their wrist straight and thrust with their entire body." Turning to him, one of the men asked, "Are you a rough man, James?"

James looked puzzled. "Rough man? No, I don't think so."

"We heard what you were trying to do." said a second man.

James laughed, then grimaced from the pain. "Not real successful."

The men laughed, then one said, "Buddy, you have to go out and try, you don't have to come back." The men shook hands with him and the last one left a large coin in James' hand. To James' puzzled expression, one of the men just said: "You are now a member of the exclusive club of rough men that the Doc has saved." With a wave, they left.

But other than these four, his visitors were mostly a senior physician or surgeon with a flock of interns following like ducklings. Other than a polite "Good morning Mr Possible, may we?" while gesturing to his side, he might as well not have been in the room. The sheet was lifted up and the dressing was gently peeled back so that all present could ooh and aah over Ann's neat, precise stitching. Then followed a usually gentle poke and prod to feel the second layer of stitching underneath the skin. There would be the quietly awed announcement that Dr Credible had done all this on the floor of the apartment where she found Mr Possible laying in a pool of his own blood. So far, this bunch was following the same script as earlier groups. Laying back with his eyes closed feeling like a cut of meat on display in a butcher's shop, he finally heard the question one of the ducklings always asked:

"If this was a simple stab wound, why is the incision so long?"

But this time, he heard Ann herself say, "It's because I needed to make sure that none of Mr Possible's intestines were nicked or cut and I didn't have a laparoscope handy. Also, the amount of bleeding made me concerned that internal bleeding might need to be controlled before moving him."

"Mr Possible is a lucky man that you were nearby when he was stabbed, he might have died without your assistance," gushed a duckling.

Ann gave a tired laugh and looked at the duckling's name badge, "Mr Kirkland, I was the one that stabbed him."

* * *

"Officer Hobble, just what part of this seemed like a good idea to you?" The sheriff was not a happy man. "Middleton has its own police force to handle things like this you know."

"Yes sir," Hobble stood at attention, eyes straight ahead. "I talked to the precinct desk sergeant and he suggested that I file a report with Middleton General and have them look into it." The sheriff, tired of looking up, waved Hobble to a chair in front of his desk.

Officer Hobble sat down and continued, "Sir, all we had to go on was reports by a neighbor," Hobble checked his notebook, "a Gladys Kravitz, who reported hearing a woman crying late at night coming from the apartment next to hers. She suspected the neighbor, a Steve Barkin of running a human trafficking operation. But we checked and Lieutenant Barkin had moved out six weeks previously and the current tenant was a Dr Ann Credible who had moved in a little over a month ago after returning from a year working in Germany. Not wanting to make baseless trouble for the doctor with her hospital, we decided to investigate.

I interviewed Dr Credible myself and she said that there was nothing wrong. Lieutenant Barkin had mentioned that a James Possible was some sort of friend and business associate and that he had keys to the apartment. I naturally assumed that Mr Possible was a very close friend and at the next report of crying from the apartment, I swung by the Space Center, picked up Mr Possible and proceeded to Dr Credible's apartment. We entered the apartment, loudly announced ourselves and proceeded to check on Dr Credible. Dr Credible screamed something like 'No, I won't give you my baby!' and the next thing I knew, she was kneeling over a prone Mr Possible holding a bloody combat knife."

"You witnessed an obviously crazy woman attack a man and you didn't shoot her? Why?"

"Sir, first, I didn't see her attack Mr Possible. I was reaching for a light switch when it happened. Second, Dr Credible is obviously pregnant and I wasn't going to shoot a pregnant woman. But then she put the knife down, looked at me with clear eyes and told me to fetch her medical bag."

"What!"

"I know sir, but when I hesitated, she looked at me and said something like 'Get my bag now, officer! This man is not going to die tonight!'."

"What did you do?"

"I fetched her bag, sir. Then I helped her work on Mr Possible, she had me holding a light and occasionally sucking the blood out of the wound with a large syringe so she could see. It was actually fascinating, she told me what she was doing every step of the way."

"Is the doctor in custody now?" The sheriff was digging in his desk for aspirin. He was resisting the call of the good, aged whiskey in the bottom drawer.

"Uh, well, not exactly. She rode in the ambulance with Mr Possible but when we got there, she was dragged off to help do some emergency surgery on a traffic accident victim. I have two officers at the hospital, one outside Mr Possible's room and the other keeping a close watch on Dr Credible."

* * *

The senior physician and his ducklings finally left, leaving James alone in the room with Ann and two police officers. Ann, under the watchful eyes of the officers, addressed James, "Mr Possible, I see no reason you can't be released tonight if you have someone who can watch you for the next 48 hours or so."

"My mom should be here shortly and will be staying with me for a few days," James replied. His heart ached a little at her extremely impersonal, professional manner.

"Good. Here are your instructions for the next couple of days and here are two prescriptions," She laid a typed sheet of instructions and a small paper bag on a table. Pulling two bottles out of the bag, she continued, "this one is an antibiotic, take it three times a day for ten days and this one is for pain, take only if needed and no more than one every eight hours. I'll have a nurse stop in to check the area and remove the drain tube."

Ann turned as the door opened and Nana walked in dressed in a dark suit. She walked over to the two officers, showed her ID and talked quietly to them. They nodded and left the room, snickering at James.

"Uh Nana," murmured Ann, "I thought they were hanging around to arrest me?"

"Arrest you for assault with a deadly weapon on my son James?"

"Something like that, yeah." Ann looked at the ground.

"Never happened. James was opening one of those confounded hard plastic shells they put on products these days, his knife slipped and cut himself. Fortunately, you were there to help him. Ann, you are supposed to be off today. What do we need to do to get James discharged? I'd like to get the both of you out of here tonight."

"Well," Ann moved over to the edge of James' bed and peeled back the covers so she could examine the wound. Gently probing the area around the stitching, she said, "James has a really amazing healing factor, all I need to do is remove this drain tubing, stick a band-aid over the hole and then since I was the admitting physician, we can sign some paperwork on the way out." Ann wrapped the tubing around her hand and leaned over to look into James' eyes. James looked up and was immediately lost in those beautiful blue eyes. Ann yanked out the tubing using one quick, smooth motion as James bit back a yelp.

"Ann!" protested Nana, "Was that really necessary?"

"It's like taking off a band-aid. Quicker is better." Ann's smirk was heavy with fatigue.

"You owe me a favor." James stuck out his hand.

"OK" Ann rolled her eyes. "What?"

"May I touch your stomach?"

Too tired to be cautious, Ann walked over to James' bed. James slipped his hand under her scrub top and onto her stomach. The baby picked that moment to kick and James felt it. The look of joy and wonder on James' face broke her heart. She was even more convinced now that she had to change their agreement concerning custody.

Helping James move to a chair, Nana had Ann lay down on the bed. "You two stay put and I will go take care of paperwork, see about some rides, and be back with a wheelchair in about 20 minutes." By the time that the door closed behind Nana, Ann was asleep.

Thirty minutes later, Nana returned with an orderly and a wheelchair. The orderly helped a protesting James into the chair while Nana very carefully woke up Ann. "Ann, dear. Time for us to go, honey."

Ann sat up and Nana could see sentience return to her eyes after a few blinks. Taking the young woman by the arm Nana led them out and down the hallway. The floor nurse looked up and called out to Ann, "Dr Credible, your paperwork is all taken care of, you just go home and get some rest now, hear?"

A pickup truck and a sedan were waiting for them at the curb, Two of the men that James had seen that morning were standing by the vehicles. Nana and the orderly helped James into the pickup truck. "Calvin," Nana said to the man in the pickup, "Please drive James to his house. We'll take Ann by her apartment and pick up a few things and be along presently."

Getting into the back of the sedan with Ann, Ann gave the driver her address and he pulled out into the night traffic.

 _ **The plan**_

"James, I understand that you are the father of Ann's child." James grimaced at the directness of Calvin's statement.

"Technically, yes, but it is kind of complicated…" James started, trying to figure out an answer that would work.

"Oh I don't know, a turkey baster isn't all that complicated a bit of gear, James." Calvin had a wicked grin. "Just because you are a ground pounder doesn't mean you are clueless, and well, sometimes even a ground pounder has 'need to know'."

"So what did you need to know?"

"Some of us knew that the Doc was pregnant when she got to Germany, some of us were told to watch after her, and a few of us were told that the child she carried was special."

"Some of you?"

"Yeah, like Ramirez, he is the best in the business for teaching hand to hand combat to people, like the Doc, who have no business being in a fight. He teaches 'Hurt them quick. Hurt them bad. Run like hell.' His instruction is very hands on. But where he would have slammed a normal student on the ground multiple times, he would rarely throw the Doc and then when he did it was gently into a thick mat. Then there were the MEDEVAC chopper crews. They were always ready to take her along on early morning missions and pretend that the Doc was suffering from motion sickness, not morning sickness."

"Wouldn't keeping her at the hospital or sending her back to Germany keep her safe?" James thought he was missing something.

"The Doc seemed to have something she needed to do before this child is born. Since it seemed to have something to do with her saving some of my brothers in arms, I wasn't inclined to argue with her. One of the chopper crew said something about trying to turn her back once but then she did something called a puppy dog pout. Sounds silly, but the guy that told me was a real scary dude who I didn't think put up with any nonsense."

Stopping for a traffic light, Calvin turned and looked James in the eye, "But I digress, what are you to the Doc?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. Are you her boyfriend, lover, fiance, what?"

"Her sperm donor it appears." murmured James, looking down.

"Well, crap. Sorry about the turkey baster crack. The guys were afraid of this. Don't get me wrong, the Doc is superhero material as far as we are concerned, but it's like that song says, 'I don't need a man to hold my hand, I want one to hold my heart.'[1] You still got that coin I hope?"

James pulled the coin out of his shirt pocket and held it up. "I'm not a rough man, Calvin. She is everything I've dreamed about, well, maybe not the stabby part. But I fell hard for her the first time I met her. But I don't think she will let me be 'the man who holds her heart'."

The light turned green and Calvin shifted into gear and continued, "The Doc believes that we are her rough men ready to do violence so normal people can sleep at night. She loves us for that. But it's not the threat of our violence that the Doc needs to sleep peacefully at night. Enough of us have been down that road that we think she needs absolution."

"Forgiveness? For what?"

"Our first guess was that it was because she didn't save all of us, James. But we've pored over mission logs and talked to troopers and as best we can tell, if you were alive in the field when the Doc got to you, she kept you alive. We are hoping that you can help her figure it out and forgive herself."

"I'll do my best, Calvin."

Calvin pulled up to James' house. James slid out of the pickup. Pulling his keys out of his pocket, he thanked Calvin for the ride. Calvin declined James' offer to come in for coffee. As James walked up to the door, Calvin called out, "James?"

"Yes?" James turned at looked at Calvin.

"You have to go out and try, you don't have to come back. That applies to men's hearts as well as their souls."

James stood taller and turned to go up to the front door.

Calvin waited until James was safely in the house before driving away.

* * *

Nana walked up the two flights of stairs to Ann's apartment with Ann. Ann was moving slower than her usual "gotta get to surgery" speed of going, well, pretty much anywhere. Nana looked at her neighbor's door, open a crack with an eye peering out at them. Nana glared at the nosy neighbor and the door quickly closed. There was an envelope taped to Ann's door. Nana pulled off the envelope and unlocked the door, and motioned for Ann to go ahead.

Ann growled, "Does everyone in Middleton have a set of keys to my apartment?" and stepped in. Walking to her overstuffed recliner, she sat down and reclined with an audible relaxation.

"James and I both have keys so that we could check on the apartment while you were in Germany, dear. I believe that James has been trying to give you back his set, but it seems that you have not returned his calls to tell him when to bring them over. Would you like some tea, dear?"

"Nana, I really need to talk to you, but some tea would be nice, please."

Nana rummaged through cabinets and pulled out tea and a box of cookies. Nana remained silent until the tea was made and brought out tea and cookies for the two of them. Nana pulled over a chair so that she could sit next to Ann.

Nana looked at a troubled Ann and started, "First, let me start by saying that you have the full support of James and me, even if you won't speak to James."

"Nana, I have to change the agreement with James. Did you see his face when he felt his baby kick today? Only a monster would keep him from his child and I don't want to be that monster any longer."

"Dear, that makes me happy and I know James will be happy as well. But before you make any large changes, you need to take care of some problems so you can make decisions with a clear head and heart. I want to start with your sleep problems. I know what is causing some of it."

"You do?"

"Yes, dear. I've seen it before. I'm guessing that you have been running on about four hours of sleep a day since med school, am I right?"

"Yes, I found that I do well with a twenty-minute nap every couple of hours. That can be adjusted as I need it, for example, a four-hour surgery will require a double nap afterward."

"People who can run on four hours of sleep a day aren't that rare. But, your advancing pregnancy has messed you up, you are going to have to have closer to eight hours sleep in a day."

"But…"

"Not negotiable, dear, I am not making the rules, your body is."

"Second thing is that you are going to have to find someone to talk to."

"Talk to about what?"

"Whatever is making you cry in your sleep."

"It's mostly nightmares about James and the baby…"

"Then we have to figure out how to make you believe that nobody is going to take your baby away, especially James."

"I know that James isn't going to take my baby away."

"Dear, I can point you to a stab wound that says differently."

"I didn't mean to stab him, I just, well, panicked when he interrupted a nightmare. The nightmare was about me turning into a monster and people were taking my baby away from me to give to James so I wouldn't make her a monster like myself. Other times I dream that my child turns her back on me after she finds out what I have done to her daddy!"

"Dear, we will work on that after you get some rest. Trust me, You and James can fix this. One last detail," Nana handed Ann the letter that was taped to her door. "Look at this and see if is what I am afraid it is."

Ann opened the letter and read it. Fury broke out on her face. "They can't do this, it wasn't my fault!" She handed the letter back to Nana.

Nana glanced over the letter, "Notification that committing a felony in your apartment is against the terms of the lease, etc., etc., 48 hours to remove personal belongings, forfeiture of deposit because of blood stains, etc., etc."

Ann looked like she was close to breaking down into tears.

Nana took Ann's hands and said, "Dear, take a breath and relax. Let Nana take care of you for a few days OK? You've been rushing all over the place to take care of others for so long that you have neglected yourself. You need to be healthy, rested, and strong to take care of the baby and others; we can get you that way. Here's the plan. The hospital is giving you a week off. You lost so much leave in your first two years of residency by not taking any that they owe you. We will pack an overnight bag now and take you to a house that was just purchased and is pretty much empty. Tomorrow we will hire movers to get all your stuff here and move it to the new house. Then we will start to work on your sleep schedule so you aren't crazy sleep deprived but can still function as a surgeon. Does that sound like a plan?"

"OK, Nana. Wait, whose house is it?"

"James just bought it, I told him that with the current housing market it was a good investment."

"Nana, I can't move in with James, he will fall in love with me and I'll break his heart and…" Ann was openly crying.

"Ann, dear, get a grip and get over yourself. You're tired and irrational."

"No, it's true. Nana, I've seen how he looks at me. Even after I stabbed him!"

"Dear, at best, you will have some help with the baby and you might find you actually like the guy if you give him a chance. At worse, he will be no different than I was with Indy. I survived. Are you bringing in a lover to live with you?"

"Nana, I don't have a lover!"

"Then he will be better off than I was because you won't be rubbing in that you love someone else in his face!" bitterness bled into Nana's voice.

Nana sighed, stood up and held out her hand. "Come on dear, get up, let's get your stuff and go to the house. You can make decisions tomorrow once you catch up on sleep."

Ann numbly obeyed.

[1] From song by Lindsey Stirling - "Hold My Heart featuring ZZ Ward" Check it out on YouTube.

 _ **Playing House**_

James was sitting at the kitchen table. "Mom, how is Ann doing?"

"She was getting in the shower about thirty minutes ago. I didn't hear her last night, did you?" Nana poured herself some coffee and sat down.

"I thought I heard her get up a couple of times last night. I know she got up once and got a drink from the kitchen." James, knowing Nana made the coffee, heavily cut his with milk.

"How did you sleep?" Nana sipped her coffee.

"That couch is a killer, seems all soft and comfy but you wake up feeling like your back is going out."

"You really need to burn it, dear. I've told you that old thing is too dangerous to give away."

"Well, Ann's furniture should get moved over today or tomorrow, I'll get my bed back. Plus if I take that position at Alice Springs, I will be on the other side of the planet from the back eating couch."

"Alice Springs, Australia?" Ann stepped into the kitchen wearing a big fluffy bathrobe over medical scrub pants.

James popped up and started over to help Ann when she stopped him with a sharp look.

"James, please, I'm pregnant, not helpless." She walked over, pulled a glass out of the dish rack and pulling a carton out of the fridge, filled her glass with orange juice.

"James, please, sit. I'm fine really." Ann set down at the table looking with lust in her heart at their coffee. "What was that about Alice Springs?"

"They are setting up a deep space command, control and tracking station there. I think I can get on the engineering team that will work there. How are you feeling? You look well." James stopped hovering and sat back down.

"I slept for at least nine solid hours last night. I haven't slept that long at a stretch since I was a freshman in college. I feel great. James, I want to thank you for letting me stay here and I'm really, really sorry about stabbing you."

"You are welcome here, Ann. The house was really an investment, I'm happy you can move in. And as for the other thing, well, I will be more careful when going into a sleeping woman's bedroom should the opportunity ever arise again. Can I fix you some breakfast? I also have blueberries and yogurt."

"Yogurt and blueberries would be perfect, thank you."

James set out a bowl and spoon, then pulled yogurt and blueberries from the fridge. He pulled out a box of granola from the cupboard.

"James, somehow you don't strike me as a yogurt and granola guy." Ann spooned granola and berries on her bowl of yogurt."

"I have it on the best authority that it is official surgeon chow. I stopped in once to check on your apartment and your lieutenant Barkin was complaining that it was the only breakfast food in the kitchen when you left. I think that he ate it rather than throwing it out, but complained anyway."

"Did you run out this morning to get it?" Ann looked at James with narrowed eyes.

"Well, yes. I wasn't stocked to make my own breakfast, much less breakfast for guests."

"James, you need to be taking it easy until that wound heals. Wait, were you driving on painkillers?"

"You can drive when taking ibuprofen. The good stuff makes me groggy, I hate to take it."

"How bad is the pain? Are you feeling any fever?" Ann reached out and put a cool hand on James' face. James' eyes glazed over and he got a far away look. Nana broke out laughing, "I guess he got over the stabbing quickly enough."

James pulled himself together, "What?"

Ann crossed her arms. "James, I want to live in this house with you and once the baby is born, I want you fully involved in raising it."

James looked like he had won the lottery.

"James, we need to discuss boundaries…" Ann started

James was reminded that lottery winnings are taxable.

 _ **'Cause Two Out Of Three...**_

Somehow James thought that having Ann as a roomie meant he would see her more. She was due in three weeks and was determined to work at least half of that before going on maternity leave. This meant that he saw her typically during the week for a late dinner and maybe on Saturday or Sunday she would have the day off. Tonight, she came home late, tired, stiff and in low spirits. So he had offered her a back rub.

"Gotta keep your eye on the prize, son. A happy momma makes a happy baby," thought James as he stuck another pillow under Ann's leg. The books and magazines on pregnancy that he had researched had suggested that for a back rub, he should have Ann lay on her side with pillows seemingly stuffed everywhere for support. The bed being too low, he had placed foam padding on the pool table. He had brought home a couple of fist-sized ball bearings from a rocket thruster gimbal mount. They was the perfect size to roll over stiff muscles and being made of carbide steel, held heat well to provide warmth. He started high on her back and started rolling circles down towards her hips.

"James?"

"Yes, Ann?"

"Thanks for everything you have been doing for me."

"You're welcome Ann." James exchanged the ball bearing he was using with the one warming under a heating pad. Making sure that it wasn't too hot, he started another pass down her back. There was a lot of tension there, surgery must have been brutal today.

"I don't want you to regret having me move in here."

"Why would I do that?"

"You don't get anything in return."

James' brain seized. He cursed that he didn't inherit the ability for smooth talking from his dad. Or his dad's smile that turned women weak in the knees according to Mom. "I get to put my hands on the most beautiful woman in Middleton."

"But I'm not," she wailed, "my skin is blotchy and I'm fat. I've seen you looking at dating sites offering hot astronomer babes. You are going to leave and go to Alice Springs with some hot radio astronomer who will give you everything I'm not."

'Lord, please kill me now before I screw up any more,' thought James. Finding himself still alive, he realized what she had seen. "I wasn't looking at dating sites, those were just ads on the Fan Fiction website. And I turned down the Alice Springs position." James started working on her lower back.

"Fan Fiction?" Ann's tone made it unclear whether that was better or worse than cruising dating sites.

"Yes honey, I was checking up on the Captain Constellation stories. I wrote a couple back in college and I was looking to see what my favorite authors are up to."

"You aren't leaving?"

"No, honey. What's wrong? What happened today?" James stopped working on Ann's back, leaned over her and put his arms around her the best he could.

"An EMT, 20 years old, was on a house fire call. He was only supposed to be there to take fire fighter's blood pressure and stuff like that, make sure that they weren't being overstressed. Part of the house collapsed with a fire fighter inside and he ran in to help pull him out. He did save the man, but something in the house exploded and he was struck by flying debris. When they got him into the OR, they called in me, Peter and Frances. Pete and Fran are the best trauma surgeons in the world! The joke among the residents is that if you give them hamburger, they will give you back the cow. I was working on removing a splinter that had pierced his skull and was causing inter-cranial bleeding, Pete was doing abdominal repair and Fran was working on a piece of metal in his chest that was causing both lung damage and threatening his heart. We worked for over three hours and we were winning! I had finished with his head injury and was assisting Pete who was almost done. Fran was closing up. As God is my witness, we were winning, James! Then it was like his body couldn't take the stress any longer and it just gave up. We couldn't save him!" Ann sobbed.

"We met his mom afterward. His father left them when he was a baby. She is alone now, her son will never give her another hug, talk to her on the phone, she's alone. James, our baby is supposed to help 'save the world'. What if she doesn't come home one day? I don't want to be alone if that happens. Take me to bed James. I want you to make love to me."

James paused trying to get his emotions and thoughts under control.

"James, don't you want to have sex with me? Am I that huge and hideous now?"

"No!, Ann, I've dreamed of being with you ever since I met you. But I don't want you to feel you need to do this when you don't want to be with me that way."

"James, I want you, I need you, I need to have this intimate connection. Can't that be enough for now? Please, James?"

James starting pulling pillows out of the way so he could get her down from the table. 'I guess always knew my heart wasn't coming back from this,' he thought to himself as he gathered Ann into his arms.

 _ **Ann's Heart**_

Ann woke in the middle of the night. She reached over to touch little Kimberly Ann, but her arm only touched cool covers. After bringing their new baby home from the hospital, Ann wanted her baby sleeping next to her. James moved back to his bed as he was afraid of rolling over and smothering the infant. As Ann was breastfeeding, there was no reason for James to get up for nighttime feedings, and as for changing diapers, Ann did that at night to let him sleep. As James had the shorter workday, once her maternity leave ran out, James would get little Kimmy ready for daycare and do the drop off and pick up.

Ann got up and walked into James' bedroom. As she expected, no James. Walking into the living room she saw James outside on the back patio with a wide awake Kimmy bundled up warmly against the cool night air and sitting in a baby sling. James was pointing at the moon and the stars in the sky and telling her all the places that she could go exploring when she got older. Watching the two for a moment, she felt herself fall a little more in love with her Kimmy's geeky father. Slipping quietly back to her bedroom, she crawled back into bed and went to sleep.

James heard a knock at the back gate. "Come on back Calvin! We're on the patio."

Calvin opened the gate and walked over to James and sat in a chair near the pair. "How did you know it was me?"

"Who else besides a rough man would be watching over people sleeping?"

"How's the Doc doing? Is she letting you hold her heart?"

James held Kimmie up so Calvin could see her clearly.

"This is Ann's heart, Calvin. And she trusts me to hold it."

"I understand you two are going to have another?"

"in a couple of years or so. Ann's heart is certainly big enough to cover another child. I have hope that it will cover me someday.

Kimmie fussed a little. "Got to get her back inside to Ann, sounds like she is hungry. And from past experience, I need to warm Kimmie-cub's lips up a bit first."

"You are a good man James, see you around."

"Calvin, don't be a stranger."


End file.
